The Football Association finally made it official yesterday, that Fabio Capello will be the last foreigner to manage the England team when his time in charge comes to an end after Euro 2012, should he last that long.

Athole Still, agent for former England and Manchester City manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, has admitted his client could be tempted by the vacancy at Fulham but confirmed there had been no contact with the London club.

Much tittering in the publishing industry last week, following the news that a certain Icelandic volcano had rendered Tony Blair (plus tan) unable to return from the Middle East. Not only was he due to join the Labour Party on the campaign trail, but he was to be thrown a no-expense-spared do at the London Book Fair by his publishers, Random House, in order to meet and greet industry figures. Unable to cancel the event, the champagne and canapés had to be passed around without him.

Prospective parliamentary candidates beware, economic tinkering and business red tape are not welcomed in the Northamptonshire constituency of Wellingborough, where Conservative Peter Bone, a Sven-Goran Eriksson doppelganger, holds a wafer-thin majority of just 687.